Takanori Gomi in talks for Affliction debut at ‘Trilogy’



Former PRIDE FC lightweight champion Takanori Gomi (30-5) is in talks to make his Affliction debut against Brett Cooper (9-4) at “Trilogy” from the Honda Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 1 according to MMAweekly.

“The Fireball Kid” recently snapped a two-fight losing skid in the Sengoku promotion.

He first lost a decision to Russian journeyman Sergey Golyaev (13-7) at Sengoku 6 last November. Then he had another lackluster outing against Satoru Kitaoka at Sengoku “Rebellion” in January, tapping out to an Achilles lock just 1:41 into the very first round.

It was a major setback for a fighter as revered as he is. Gomi didn’t look like the same dominant fighter who once tore through PRIDE’s lightweight ranks with ease, which led to people questioning his heart and whether he still had what it takes to compete on an active level.

Gomi managed to silence some of his critics and get back to his winning ways by obliterating Takashi Nakakura with a barrage of strikes in an exciting showdown this past May when he went back to his roots and paid homage to the organization that kickstarted his career at Shooto “Final Tradition.”

Now with that victory it appears he’s refocused and motivated to once again climb up the lightweight ladder, continuing that journey when he clashes against Brett Cooper at Affliction 3: “Trilogy.”

Cooper has one bout under the Affliction banner, a TKO victory over Patrick Speight at Affliction 2: “Day of Reckoning” that took place on January 24. Since then he went on to defeat Joe Cronin (12-10) via doctor stoppage at Call to Arms 1 last month.

He now faces the biggest challenge of his career against Gomi and a win would boost his stock considerably.

Affliction 3: “Trilogy” will feature a main event between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and top-ranked division player, Josh Barnett. Former Dream middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi is also expected to make his fighting debut on American shores against Renato “Babalu” Sobral in a light heavyweight showdown.